Harris picks Walz for vice president

Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate as she heads toward a November faceoff against former President Trump, she announced Tuesday.

Harris announced her choice of Walz in a post on Instagram and in a text message to supporters, praising his support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.

“I share this background both because it’s impressive in its own right, and because you see in no uncertain terms how it informs his record,” Harris wrote on Instagram.

“But what impressed me most about Tim is his deep commitment to his family: Gwen, Gus, and Hope,” she added, referencing Walz’s wife and children. “Doug and I look forward to working with him and Gwen to build an administration that reflects our shared values.”

“We are going to build a great partnership,” Harris wrote. “We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”

Walz, 60, emerged as a dark horse contender for the No. 2 slot as chatter over other high-profile names, in particular Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), dominated the early portion of the veepstakes.

But the Minnesota governor saw his profile rise considerably over the past week, especially after a viral cable news interview in which he derided some Republicans as “weird” — a line of attack later adopted by national Democrats.

His selection concludes a whirlwind two-week period that saw President Biden end his reelection bid, Harris consolidate support within the party to become the presumptive nominee, and the vice president’s team rapidly vet contenders to join her on the ticket in November.

The pick drew praise from both progressive and more moderate Democrats.

“Vice President Harris made an excellent decision in Gov. Walz as her running mate,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) posted on the social platform X. “Together, they will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people. They won’t back down under tight odds, either – from healthcare to school lunch.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who was the first House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside, called Walz a “solid, decent former colleague with good humor, a former teacher and veteran, who represented a Minnesota district usually represented by the GOP.”

“You can’t not get along with no-nonsense Tim,” Doggett posted on X. “As Governor, he offers a straight-talking, compassionate leader delivering the progress we need.”

Harris had not made up her mind on a running mate as of Monday night, taking the decision up until the final hours.

Walz was also seen by many as a safer choice for Harris thanks to his liberal bona fides and the fact that some of the other contenders had come under fire from certain segments of the left. Shapiro received heavy scrutiny recently over his response to pro-Palestinian protests that emerged in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, and both he and Kelly drew the ire of union leaders.

Adding to Walz’s appeal is the fact that he hails from a Midwestern state that Trump has increasingly set his sights on flipping. Though Biden won Minnesota in 2020 by 7 points, and no Republican has won the presidential race there in more than 50 years, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), have stepped up their efforts to campaign in the state.

But he is not without vulnerabilities. Republicans are likely to use some of his policy positions on abortion and LGBTQ issues to paint him as a radical liberal, just as they have with Harris.

Walz was governor of Minnesota during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Republicans are certain to highlight images of that tumultuous time. The Trump campaign had previously attacked Harris for promoting a bail fund for demonstrators arrested in Minnesota following Floyd’s death.

“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

“From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars, and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide,” she added. “If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”

Harris and Walz will storm battleground states this week, starting Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. The two will travel later this week to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada. Planned trips to North Carolina and Georgia were reportedly postponed as Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Southeast.

This story was first published at 8:51 a.m. ET